Newsletter May 2011

Movie “NON-DUALITY LIFE AS IT IS”

Available 1st June 2011 – For TRAILER click here

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FORTH COMING BOOK

NEW CD’s

Special serie CD’s “TIME 1,2,3,4” and CD’s “Failure”, “More and Less”, “Knowledge”, “Senses”.

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Comment: CD ‘Bliss’

Bill Kelley, Austin, USA

I've just finished listening to the CD "Bliss". It is one that I have listened to several times over the last few weeks. There are so many powerful points that are quite stirring. The focus is on objects, beliefs, knowledge (all types), &other things that strengthen the ego. The climax is when we come to be aware of this and realize that the ego is simply not in the "place" where we are alive. Then we simply dwell in that place where we are alive, that awareness. It is a very beautiful CD woven in such a perfect way. Thank you very much.

Michael Jeffrey’s BLOG on NNH, USA

In the last chapter of Dr. Shankar's profound book, Kaivalya Gita Vol. 1, titled LIFE, he gives a full commentary on: "Man thinks he can control life." I found it so valuable, that it inspired the following BLOG on my website which I wish to share with my brothers and sisters here on the Never Not Here Forum. –Michael

YOU are NOT the doer

"The moment you understand that you are not in control, then you become steady." -Dr. Vijai Shankar
YOU are NOT the doer. You are not in control. Life is--and always has been--for everyone. It's true. You are what sees/watches what happens AS it happens. And the proper attitude for your viewing pleasure and enjoyment of Life (since you have been given the very best seat in the house!), is one of love, faith and awe, and not worry, concern or fear! :)

Not convinced? Okay, let's say that you ARE the doer. And you wish to make something happen. Okay, so you wish to pick up a pen and you do so, now what? See, while you are deciding what the next thing is that you should do, the show is still going on! The movie is still playing! Life is still moving, still unfolding. If life were to pause while everyone on the planet tried to make up their mind as to what should happen next, Life could never work!

As Dr. Vijai Shankar reminds us:

"And what could man control when he is unable to control his own birth, the starting point of his life? And what could man control when he is unable to control his own death, the ending point of his life? When man is unable to control the beginning point and the ending point, how could he control the in-between, illusory story?"

Still some doubt? No problem. Look, the only reason you believe you are the doer is because you have a thought that tells you so. But let me ask you a question: What/who put the thought there? Did you "put" it there? Or, does it just appear spontaneously? And if so, then all thoughts are simply appearing on their own. Therefore, regardless of what a thought may claim, YOU didn't make it appear. And if you don't control your thoughts, then you don't control your actions, since the only way we know to do something is because we have a thought that tells us to do it.

Knowing that Life does all leads to freedom as the struggle drops away. When Life ceases to be a struggle then it can, finally, be enjoyed and admired as the unfolding miracle that it actually is and has always been.

Comment on Michael’s BLOG on NNH
Anna, Slovania
Dear Michael
Thank you so much for your Blog on Dr.Shankar. It inspires me to add more comments upon his teaching, specially since I`ve too just finished reading the Kaivalya Gita Vol.1. Of course the word "finished" isn`t quite appropriate as the book, apparently so easy in its form, is so deep that we cannot finish it just in one reading. I also love his humor, it is so contagious that the reading becomes a great fun.
The topic of non-doership is deeply connected with the concept of free will, which he also deals with in Chapter 8. He tears apart the veils of our concepts such as "I am the doer of my actions" or "I can choose what to do or not to do" in a radical way, showing how illusory they are. Life is a continuous flow in a timeless now and everything in this flow is connected. Things being separate is an illusion. Cause and effect are illusions since there is no time interval between them. The illusion of cause and effect entertains the belief of free will. Of course we can also start from seeing that thoughts just emerge completely out of our control, disappearing when they wish. They condition our actions. Feelings and instinctive reactions make us also act in different ways.
So where is this Free will?
Understanding this - it means freedom to me. But also acceptance for everything that happens in life.

Letter to AAU:

From Reiner Wehrenfennig, Germany

Dear Mr. Shankar,

Thank you very much for giving the hints to the video-clips of the interviews with Marcus. He is from Stuttgart I know and I live in a nearby suburb of Stuttgart (Hemmingen). I viewed vol. 1 to 3 of the interviews and was very impressed by vol. 1 and more even from vol. 2: What is life. Watching and hearing your talk I suddenly get in laughter few times about the ignorance and arrogance of mind in the human who thinks he is a doer, thinker, and speaker. This was a remarkable experience for me. On the other hand this spends me some huge feeling of humility and respect of life.

Shankar: Happy that respect of life is happening to you.

But now again I have some questions.

Suppose (and I only belief it because I have not an understanding until know) an enlightened being talks about the absolute so it has to be still the illusory mind of that being too which talks, right? Because it talks “about” something it “is”, and talking takes time and therefore is illusory, right?
Shankar: An enlightened being never talks about the absolute. He will only share an understanding that the mind is illusory. Whatever the mind says he will explain it is ‘Neti Neti’.The enlightened talk because they have something to share. Man talks because he has to say something.

Now to your sample of the puzzle in interview. 3 “Who am I”:

You state that if the last piece of the puzzle falls in place suddenly the optical illusion appears. From my experience this happens earlier: of course you know some tv quiz which play with the recognition ability of man to complement missing pieces by thought of memory to get the picture of the puzzle earlier than its completion. In your books you state that not a single piece of life could be missed – if so life would vanish: if animal will disappear – man will disappear, life will disappear – which could never be. So the puzzle of the illusory life behaves in another way then the puzzle man plays within the illusory reflected light?

Shankar: Life does not behave but unfolds every moment. Life is an eternal play of light and sound that reflects illusory world, man and mind.

Is memory needed only for illusion? So if one takes the memory from all of humanity they would live in the now? If memory of concepts vanish man would no longer react but would response to life, right? But if memory vanishes not only conceptual memory vanishes but the “working” memory too: one could not cook tea anymore for example.

Shankar: Even if memory is present man lives in the now but only thinks he does not. Memory does not conclude life, Life conducts illusory memory.

So for example the advaita wise Ramesh Balsekar described the human mind constructed of two parts: The working mind and the conceptional mind. The first represents intelligence of life the latter the ego. Would you agree? He stated too: enlightenment could not be asserted – and is still some individual understanding. He continued: for him enlightenment means: man has the understanding that he has no will – only the “will of god” (or absolute or whatever one will call it) happens. So he stated man has to surrender his will to the absolute, which does not mean that “surrender” is a doing - it is a happening too.

Shankar: The intelligence of life reflects the illusory intellectual mind and ego.
So next you state in your books about 5 elements that they appear in a given order: fire, air, water, earth, time and space. Of course order needs concept of time but we are arguing in time here. This order of elements comes from a mind of an enlightened being I suppose (you!).
Shankar: Understanding of the elements shines through the mind and does not come from the mind.

I suppose further: knowledge (relative) is a reflection of wisdom (absolute) in the human mind. If an enlightened being talks wisdom becomes knowledge.

Shankar: Knowledge is an illusory manifestation of sound and not a reflection of wisdom. Wisdom is the understanding that knowledge is an auditory illusion of sound.
If so I will quote another order of elements from the so called sufi tradition which claims wisdom too: Air, fire, water and earth – time and space is not mentioned there. But the order of fire and air is transposed in regard to your statement. The wisdom of the Sufis says: because when the bodies vanish from earth at time of dead first air vanishes (breathing stops), then fire vanishes (heat of the body disappears), then water vanishes (body liquids disappear) and at last earth vanishes (body disorders into earth elements). And because the order of vanishing of matter is this way the order of appearing is similar: first air, then fire, then water and then earth . What do you think?
Shankar: When the body dies breathing stops but air dus not vanish for there are many living beings in the dead body, for example, bacteria, parasites and viruses that still utilise air. So too the rest of the elements are present. The body merely transforms into the five elements once again. Death therefore is life too. Reflected light is heat which reflected first as fire.
Interesting with regard to that is the statement of the Jesus prayer: “your will (“the will of god”, of the source, of the absolute) should happen on earth” which means the will of the absolute does not happen on earth until know because mans will (ego) disturbs and interferes with gods will. What do you think about? I know you will state: the “will of god” (absolute, or intelligence) is done on earth too as illusion (reflection). But you stated in clip vol.2 that the behaviour of a man who has got understanding will change and change will be known by himself and others. So if behaviour changes there has to be more “intelligent” or less intelligent behaviour as we face “minimum” and “maximum” in all phenomena within illusion. So what is the “better” reflection: minimum intellect of maximum intellect?

Shankar: By change is meant a man of understanding responds rather than react
“Better” again is a valuation within duality of course. You say for example “anger” will appear in both the enlightened being and the enlightened being who has not realized his enlightenment but it will show a different behaviour and you stated in the interview it will not be shown from the ego out of “feeling right” but from compassion. So within illusion a significant change from ego to compassion will occur. We will get an “better” or less harmful illusion so to say?! Of course harmful could be curing in some way but only until it is cured.
Shankar: Change is from ego to witnesser. Anger of the ego transforms as compassion in the witnesser. Illusion is harmless and not less or more harmful.

So if understanding happens to all of mankind “will of god” will happen on earth, or not? But some wise man stated: it is impossible that all mankind will get understanding only a few. What do you think about please?

Shankar: What is meant to happen will happen and what is not meant to happen will not happen.
So I know of course that this is all is only conceptionell and has nothing to do with enlightenment. But because you are telling stories too like "once upon in time evolution shows evolution of fire, then of air, then of water and after that of earth" this could be another story (of course not my own).
Shankar: The books carry statements and not stories in time.

Comment: Article ‘Decisions’ on www.acadun.com

Rebecca Perry, Houston

At the office today I just overheard a conversation where someone is telling someone else that that they will have to make a decision quickly and be ready to move on that decision.  Of course, having just read Decisions, Decisions, Decisions, I had to smile.  Those parties will struggle with that decision and only be happy with each other if the one party approves of the other’s decision.  Not understanding that you simply cannot make a decision leaves you at the mercy of always having to get it right or be considered a failure by yourself and others.
Understanding that life flows in one way only, is spontaneous, uncontrollable and unpredictable allows for a gracious appreciation of whatever decision appears to be made. A trust in life’s intelligence replaces the struggle to make the right decision or face possible ruin and loss of face in the eyes of others.  If you cannot possibly know what is in the other’s mind then how you could know if the apparent decision was right or wrong?  And, not understanding your own mind by what criteria would you judge the rightness or wrongness of the decisions you think you make?
What a relief to understand that decisions appear in the mind, perfectly tailor-made by life to please or displease the ego.  And, since there is no time except conceptually then right decision/wrong decision would have to be false.  Watch patiently and you will see that you are always flowing in the only way that you can and how could that possibly be wrong?

Thank you again Dr. Shankar. These gems that come forth from you have shifted the landscape of my life like a 10.0 earthquake – totally fresh and rearranged.

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